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Exhibitions, Events at MCR Museum Jan 2013

The low down on the first month of 2013

Published on December 11th 2012.

NEW Galleries – now open

Ancient Worlds

Free entry

The opening of Ancient Worlds at the end of 2012 marked the centenary of the first Egypt gallery to be opened at the Museum. These three new galleries - Discovering Archaeology, Egyptian Worlds and Exploring Objects - highlight our collections from Manchester and the region, and from ancient civilizations such as Greece, Rome and Egypt. Ancient Worlds showcases the best of our outstanding archaeology collections and reveals the people behind the objects: who made them, who used them, who lost and re-discovered them, who collected, classified and interpreted them.

The new Ancient Worlds galleries are supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Monument Trust, The Headley Trust, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, The Barker Foundation, The Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust, Manchester Ancient Egypt Society and by the exhibition Tutankhamun-His Tomb And His Treasures.

The history of the British Isles and its inhabitants, both human and canine, has long been entwined. Breed reveals the enduring and affectionate relationship between the British people and their dogs and explores the very beginnings of pedigree dog breeding in Britain.

The exhibition focuses on six pedigree dogs: bloodhound, borzoi, bulldog, collie, Irish wolfhound and Pekingese. Each breed highlights something unique about British history and culture and the connection between human and dog, from the bloodhound’s role tracking down Jack the Ripper to the patriotic spirit the bulldog embodied during WWII.

This exhibition has been developed with The University of Manchester’s Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine and supported by the AHRC.

All Other Things Being Equal

Until 2 June 2013 Free entry

The Ecuadorian Amazon is one of the most bio-diverse and endangered regions of our planet. Many people want to protect the biodiversity that remains, but the reality on the ground is a complex dilemma. Local economic necessity means that trees are valued for their timber more than for their crucial role in the ecosystem.

This exhibition, based on three years of personal research experience by scientist and photographer, Johan Oldekop, mixes photographs and sounds with graphical representations of socio-economic data and specimens from the Museum’s natural history collection. The materials, collected between 2006 and 2010, trace some of the complex relationships between humans and the environment in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. The research this exhibition is based on was supported by the German International Cooperation (GIZ GmbH), the Royal Geographical Society and the Wingate Foundation.

Sensory play and interactive story sessions for babies who aren’t walking yet.

Magic Carpet: Rainforest

Friday 25 January, 10.30-11.30am & 11.30am-12.30pm

Book on 0161 275 2648 (from a week before), free, under 5s and their families/carers

Storytelling and activity session for under 5s and their families/carers.

Amazonian Rainforest Big Saturday

Saturday 26 January, 11am-4pm

Drop-in, free, all ages

A day bursting with hands-on craft and art activities for all the family, inspired by our All Other Things Being Equal exhibition. Find out what life is like in the Rainforest and help us create a huge Rainforest mural. Discover the incredible diversity of life as you see, touch and handle some of the insects and animals from the Museum’s collection. You can also find out more about some of the Museum’s live animals.

In Touch

Daily, 11am-3pm

Drop-in, free, all ages

Visit one of our handling tables and get hands-on with objects from the collection, such as an armadillo shell, an Alexander the Great coin, a whale’s tooth and ancient Egyptian objects.

Play + Learn

Daily

Drop-in, free, all ages

A dedicated space for children and their families to read, draw and relax on their visit to the Museum.

Family Backpacks

Daily

Free, all ages

Borrow one of our family backpacks jammed with games and activities to do in the galleries. A range of contents make them suitable for all ages.

Discovery Centre

Saturdays & Sundays, 11am-4pm

Drop-in, free, all ages

Drop into the Discovery Centre for drawing and other art activities inspired by the Museum's collection and pick up one of our free Museum activity sheets.

The rise of the suburban garden and access to the local country park has brought wildlife closer than ever before. This course will give an insight into the lives of some of our best known animals, The Mute Swan, The Red & Grey Squirrel, Mr Fox and our different species of owls. The badger, bats and deer are amongst others which will be studied to give an outline of the nature that abounds within the British Isles. If possible, a visit to a badger sett will be arranged.

Delving into the murky past of Manchester, we will be looking into the smog of the mill chimneys and into the homes and lives of those people who stood up for their rights to a steady job and a say in how society was run.

This course will introduce some fundamentals of Palaeontology and suit those with an interest in ancient and extinct life forms. It will consider topics such as fossilisation, the origins and history of life on earth, evolution and extinction and fossil morphology and classification. Suitable for beginners and those with some knowledge of the subject.

Statues were central to ancient Egyptian religion, but how did the Egyptians use and understand them? This one day course will examine stylistic developments in sculptures of non-royal people, deities and kings, and address the meanings behind them through textual sources. Using the collections of Manchester Museum, Dr Campbell Price will explore the existence of portraiture, the role of sculptors and the rituals designed to bring statues to life.

Rock Drop: Geology identification drop-in session

Thursday 24 January, 2-3pm

Free, drop-in

Our Curator of Earth Sciences, David Gelsthorpe, will be in the Resource Centre once a month to answer your questions and identify your rocks and fossils.

After Hours: Breed

Thursday 24 January, 6.30-9.30pm

Drop-in, free, adults

An evening social event with all things canine. Explore our Breed: The British & their Dogs exhibition and design your own dog. Meet dogs who feature in the exhibition and Pets as Therapy dogs. Bark around with our mobile dog game.

Urban Naturalist: Garden birds

Saturday 26 January, 2-4pm

Book on 0161 275 2648, £3, adults With the help of our experts, learn to spot birds in your garden. Urban Naturalist is a series of friendly, practical workshops run by leading naturalists. From wild food-foraging and composting to bird song and insect identification, explore biodiversity on our doorstep.

The Confucius Institute China talks: Chinese charity and the politics of history

Wednesday 30 January, 1-2pm Book on 0161 275 2648, free, adults Pierre Fuller, The University of Manchester, explores the legacy of charity in traditional China and popular perceptions of China’s past over the 20th century.

Tours of the Vivarium (live animals) Every Tuesday & Thursday (except school holidays), 12-1pm Book on 0161 275 2648 or at the Information Desk, free, ages 13+ Meet the Museum's live animals and learn about the education and conservation work taking place beyond the displays.

TASTER tours

Every Wednesday & Thursday, 1pm Drop-in (no need to book), free, meet at the Information Desk (Floor G) Come and join one of our Visitor Services Assistants for a tour and learn more about some of the fascinating objects on display at the Museum. Tours are drop-in and focus on different aspects of the Museum and its collections each time.

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